Walmart isn't in the clear to break ground in southern Sioux Falls just because voters approved rezoning property for the box store.

A shakeup in city zoning rules leaves it uncertain how building plans will come together.

Whether the company continues to plan under the current zoning ordinance or it uses the new Shape Places rules also approved in last week's election, it puts the project in a gray area. The public might have lost its last chance to add conditions for the property.

It depends on which rules the city is using when Walmart takes out its building permit.

No date is set for when the newly approved zoning ordinance, Shape Places, will take effect. The City Council will decide that after election results are canvassed Tuesday.

Should Walmart build under the Shape Places rules, the commercial C-4 zoning voters approved would stand. That's defined as a regional retail center meant to attract shoppers from all over the city and surrounding region. It's intended for big box stores, malls and super grocery stores, according to the ordinance. There's no limit on the size of the building.

Under the city's old zoning rules, C-4 comes with limits on building size. Walmart would need a conditional use permit for the 185,000-square-foot supercenter it proposes to build.

That would trigger a public hearing where people could ask for certain conditions for things such as landscaping, fencing and lighting.

Neighbors near 85th Street and Minnesota Avenue where Walmart proposes to build say the store is too close to single-family homes. Their two main concerns: hours and the size of the store.

Putting conditions on those items probably wouldn't stand. Conditions have to be nondiscriminatory and reasonably enforceable.

"How do you tell Walmart they have to close at a certain hour but Hy-Vee can be open 24 hours? Why should Walmart be singled out?" said Greg Neitzert, a member of the city's zoning board who formed Forward Zoning to campaign in support of Shape Places.

He is in favor of Walmart building at 85th and Minnesota.

Shape Places allows the public to ask for special conditions when the property is rezoned. That's already happened in the Walmart case, so it appears the public has missed its chance to speak.

Neitzert said this unique situation might warrant a special conditional-use hearing for the Walmart store.

"They (should) get the same due process that anyone else would have gotten if we wouldn't have had this weird scenario," he said.

He said it's only fair, given that the project was in process.

"It was basically half done."

The Save Our Neighborhood group is looking into the situation, spokeswoman Dana Palmer said. Save Our Neighborhood petitioned to refer the council's decision on Shape Places and the zoning for Walmart on the city ballot.

The group also appealed a circuit court decision about annexing the property into the city of Sioux Falls. It will receive a hearing April 29 before the South Dakota Supreme Court in Pierre.

Last summer, Judge Stuart Tiede ruled in favor of the city and Walmart, saying the city did nothing wrong when it annexed the property. Save Our Neighborhood contends that the city need to consult with Lincoln County before taking land into its boundaries.

"Especially in this case, the county has a vested interest in how that land is developed, particularly because of the problems with flooding in that area," Palmer said.

Walmart spokespeople had no comment about construction plans, only to say they are looking forward to working with the city to bring a new Walmart to south Sioux Falls.

The company has yet to buy the property from the Homan family.

What's next

The South Dakota Supreme Court will hear an appeal at 11 a.m. April 29 in Pierre regarding annexing property for the proposed Walmart store at 85th Street and Minnesota Avenue.